A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1495 - 1009: Arrival_2

Chapter 1495: Chapter 1009: Arrival_2

And Mary went back this time, drawing on her experiences in the wasteland, and wrote a new book "End of America" with Ellie as the protagonist. As expected, it was a market hit, followed by a storm of criticism from reviewers.

Although the book did describe the post-apocalyptic wasteland very well, the ending for the young girl Ellie drew a lot of condemnation and criticism. Some believed that her sacrifice was too cruel, with a few even saying, "If a girl has to be sacrificed for the continuation of humanity, then humanity might as well perish."

Of course, despite the unanimous criticism from literary critics, many ordinary readers supported Mary. After all, they had long grown weary of so-called political correctness.

It’s enough to deal with humans, but why should we have to coexist equally with aliens? It’s not like you haven’t seen it; the book also describes how these aliens discriminate against humans, forcing us to sign peace treaties. Are they allowed to discriminate against us while we can’t against them?

And about Ellie’s ending—if it were my child, of course, I wouldn’t want that. But if sacrificing someone else’s child could save my child, why wouldn’t I agree!

Perhaps they won’t say so openly, but they will vote with their wallets.

So no matter how much the literary critics criticize, Mary’s books remain globally popular. It’s precisely because each of her books has its controversies that she is so famous. After all, bad publicity is still publicity.

With great fame comes great controversy; many people also wrote to Mary with curses or even harassment, but she was used to it. Generally, after releasing a new book, she would immediately go hide in another world, waiting for the heat to die down before coming back. As for those letters, Mary paid them no mind—she considered her role to be Watson, just recording the words and actions of Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Duanmu. In her eyes, what she wrote was merely documentation, not purely literary creation.

Therefore, other’s opinions on her books didn’t bother her much... after all, they weren’t stories she made up.

Of course, literary awards and the like were naturally out of Mary’s reach. These awards demand political correctness, so even if Mary’s books topped the sales charts, those awarding them would pretend to be blind. What could she do?

"But is this really alright, Miss Mary?"

At this moment, Liliath stared at Mary, launching a proactive attack.

"We are not humans, but Demons, you know? Do you think our presence here doesn’t matter?"

"Demons?"

Hearing Liliath’s response, Mary put down her teacup, glanced at the three, and then nodded.

"It’s fine; since it’s Mr. Duanmu’s judgment, I think everything should be alright. After all, the Tribunal has a different way of assessing humans, so in my view, you are not particularly special... Ah, but if it comes to harming humans, we won’t let it slide, even if you have similar or identical skulls."

"Is... that so?"

"Indeed, in fact, Mr. Duanmu and I once exterminated a race called Ghouls... it was a similar situation."

"If you don’t mind, could you share the story with us?"

Hearing this, Liliath’s eyes immediately lit up, and both Naruse Mio and Banriya perked up. Indeed, they knew almost nothing about Duanmu Huai’s situation. They only knew that Duanmu was currently the Great Judge of the Tribunal, but what he had done and what his past was like... they were clueless.

"It’s no problem..."

Mary didn’t think there was anything to hide, so she retold the story of how Duanmu and she exterminated the Ghouls to the group.

After hearing Mary’s account, the three’s expressions were somewhat complex.

"I don’t feel like those Ghouls were all bad people."

Naruse Mio muttered, and Mary took a sip of her tea and nodded.

"I admit, not all Ghouls are bad. Some just wish to live peacefully and don’t want to stir up trouble."

"But...!"

"However, they eat people."

Mary quietly watched Naruse Mio, her gaze unwavering.

"They are creatures that depend on eating humans to survive, and that alone is enough. For the Tribunal, exterminating them is not about them being evil or good; it’s irrelevant. The sole focus is that they are creatures that eat humans to live, so to protect humanity, they must be completely annihilated; it’s that simple."

"This is why I believe you won’t have any issues because Mr. Duanmu is very strict on this matter. If he judged you to be enemies of humanity, regardless of your circumstances, you would have long been eliminated by him... Since Mr. Duanmu allows you to stay here, it indicates he doesn’t deem you a threat to humanity."

"............"

Mary’s voice was gentle and calm, very elegant and serene. But Naruse Mio felt a chill run down her spine—for perhaps, until now, she fully realized what sort of organization the Tribunal was.

It doesn’t act based on someone’s goodness or evilness, but solely on whether someone poses a threat to humanity... In some respects, the Tribunal is possibly scarier than those fanatical religious followers.

"Huh......"

Just then, the sound of a door opening was heard, and Duanmu Huai walked in.

"Is that Wind Band Club going to make it or not? If not, neither will I... Oh, Mary? You came?"

Seeing Mary, Duanmu Huai paused but then smiled and greeted her. Mary stood up and nodded in return.

"Yes, Mr. Duanmu, the way you invited me this time was quite unique."

In the past, Duanmu always went to Mary’s world and took her somewhere. This time, however, Mary found an invitation on her desk when she got home—honestly, had it not had Duanmu’s signature, she would’ve thought it was some prank.

After all, in Mary’s impressions, Duanmu Huai wasn’t someone who’d write an invitation.

But after she was ready and opened the invitation, a teleportation portal appeared, transporting her to Duanmu Huai’s doorstep the next moment.

"This time things are a bit special, I’ll explain later."

Duanmu Huai shrugged helplessly. He opened a list, clicked a name, then the system showed [Inviting]... It seemed this wasn’t like the Soul Cards, where he could summon them directly.

But now...

"Let’s have dinner first."

As the saying goes, nothing’s more important than a good meal.